Photon noise limited radiation detection with lens-antenna coupled microwave kinetic inductance detectors

Yates, S. J. C.; Baselmans, J. J. A.; Endo, Akira; Janssen, R. M. J.; Ferrari, L.; Diener, P.; Baryshev, A.

doi:10.1063/1.3624846

Cited by 85 publications

(71 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…A black body radiator with an identical filter stack is mounted above the cold box thermally anchored to the 4 K stage. We mount in the sample holder a lens-antenna coupled MKID array made fully of Al [13] with an antenna design frequency centered at 1.6 THz. The calculated amount of power from the black body on each pixel is about 2 × 10 −20 W at 3.5 K black body temperature.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra Low Background Cryogenic Test Facility for Far-Infrared Radiation Detectors

et al. 2012

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The next generation of far infrared radiation detectors is aimed to reach photon noise limited performance in space based observatories such as SPICA and BLISS. These detectors operate at loading powers of the astronomical signal of a few Attowatt (10 −18 W) or less, corresponding to a sensitivity expressed in noise equivalent power as low as NEP = 2 × 10 −20 W/ √ Hz. We have developed a cryogenic test setup for microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors (MKIDs) that aims to reach these ultra-low background levels. Stray light is stopped by using a box in a box design with a sample holder inside another closed box. Microwave signals for the MKID readout enters the outer box through custom made coax cable filters. The stray light loading per pixel is estimated to be less than 60 × 10 −18 W during nominal operation, a number limited by the intrinsic sensitivity of the MKIDs used to validate the system.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultra Low Background Cryogenic Test Facility for Far-Infrared Radiation Detectors

et al. 2012

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“…We have recently shown [22] that if a detector in the dark is limited by generationrecombination noise, it will necessarily be limited by photon-noise under illumination, bringing two fundamental limits within reach at once.…”

Section: Microwave Resonator Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Generation-Recombination Noise: The Fundamental Sensitivity Limit for Kinetic Inductance Detectors

et al. 2012

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We present measurements of quasiparticle generation-recombination noise in aluminium Microwave Kinetic Inductance Detectors, the fundamental noise source for these detectors. Both the quasiparticle lifetime and the number of quasiparticles can be determined from the noise spectra. The number of quasiparticles saturates to 10 µm −3 at temperatures below 160 mK, which is shown to limit the quasiparticle lifetime to 4 ms. These numbers lead to a generation-recombination noise limited noise equivalent power (NEP) of 1.5 × 10 −19 W/Hz 1/2 . Since NEP ∝ N qp , lowering the number of remnant quasiparticles will be crucial to improve the sensitivity of these detectors. We show that the readout power now limits the number of quasiparticles and thereby the sensitivity.

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“…Superconducting resonators have been proposed as kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) for sensitive multipixel radiation detection [1]. Antenna-coupled hybrid niobium titanium nitride / aluminium (NbTiN/Al) KIDs [2,3] and all-aluminium (all-Al) [4] have shown generationrecombination noise and photon noise limited performance. KIDs can also be constructed as lumped element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) [5] in which the KID is arranged as a photon absorbing area matched to free space.…”

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Anomalous response of superconducting titanium nitride resonators to terahertz radiation

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Coumou

Zheng

et al. 2014

Applied Physics Letters

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We present an experimental study of KIDs fabricated of atomic layer deposited TiN films, and characterized at radiation frequencies of 350 GHz. The responsivity to radiation is measured and found to increase with increasing radiation powers, opposite to what is expected from theory and observed for hybrid niobium titanium nitride / aluminium (NbTiN/Al) and all-aluminium (allAl) KIDs. The noise is found to be independent of the level of the radiation power. The noise equivalent power (NEP) improves with higher radiation powers, also opposite to what is observed and well understood for hybrid NbTiN/Al and all-Al KIDs. We suggest that an inhomogeneous state of these disordered superconductors should be used to explain these observations. Superconducting resonators have been proposed as kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) for sensitive multipixel radiation detection [1]. Antenna-coupled hybrid niobium titanium nitride / aluminium (NbTiN/Al) KIDs [2,3] and all-aluminium (all-Al) [4] have shown generationrecombination noise and photon noise limited performance. KIDs can also be constructed as lumped element kinetic inductance detectors (LEKIDs) [5] in which the KID is arranged as a photon absorbing area matched to free space. Aluminium LEKIDs have also shown generation-recombination and photon noise limited performance [6]. However, the low normal-state resistivity of Al makes the design of the absorber for very high frequency radiation complex. Therefore, superconductors with a high normal state resistivity have recently become of particular interest [9].A figure of merit F to optimize the responsivity of KIDs is defined as, with α sc the kinetic inductance fraction, τ the quasiparticle recombination time, Q i the internal quality factor, F res the resonance frequency, N (0) is the single spin electron density of states at the Fermi level, and V the volume of the KID. For example, Al KIDs have a long quasiparticle recombination time (a few milliseconds) and high internal quality factors (above one million), but their kinetic inductance fraction is low and their volume large.Superconducting materials with a high resistivity in the normal-state are promising because of their high quality factor and a long enough relaxation time. The high normal resistance implies a large sheet inductance, resulting in a large kinetic inductance fraction, which lowers the KID volume. The high surface impedance also eases matching to free space and optimises the photon absorption. Given the high quality NbTiN resonators pioneered by Barends et al. [7,8], titanium nitride (TiN) has been proposed, because it has the previously mentioned properties in addition to a tuneable critical temperature, which facilitates a relatively long quasiparticle lifetime [9]. Currently, several groups are studying the implementation of TiN KID devices and instruments [10][11][12][13][14]. However, a material like TiN has also drawn the attention of the condensed matter physics community, interested in the disorder-induced superconductorto-insulator transitio...

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Photon noise limited radiation detection with lens-antenna coupled microwave kinetic inductance detectors

Cited by 85 publications

References 17 publications

Ultra Low Background Cryogenic Test Facility for Far-Infrared Radiation Detectors

Ultra Low Background Cryogenic Test Facility for Far-Infrared Radiation Detectors

Generation-Recombination Noise: The Fundamental Sensitivity Limit for Kinetic Inductance Detectors

Anomalous response of superconducting titanium nitride resonators to terahertz radiation

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